The Stevensville community will gather Sunday, September 28, at 2 p.m. at Historic St. Mary’s Mission located at the west end of 4th Street. It was 173 years ago that the community of Stevensville was first settled. In recent years, Founders Day – which is co-sponsored by the Stevensville Civic Club and Historic St. Mary’s Mission Inc. – has celebrated the many facets that have contributed to Montana’s oldest community.
This year, the establishment of Fort Owen in 1850 is being commemorated. In that year, Major John Owen first signed a bill of sale for the purchase of “all the property of St. Mary’s Mission, known as the church improvements.” Two years later, he became the full owner of the buildings the priests and missionaries had built in the area. Owen brought with him trade goods and other items needed to settle the area. He worked the mills and planted orchards, crops and bought more livestock. He continued to work the gristmill and the sawmill established by the Jesuits.
Fort Owen became a hub in the area for settlers and traders. His customers were trappers, military surveyors, Natives, prospectors and other traders. Families flourished and grew. Major Owen and the Fathers at St. Mary’s Mission worked together and became friends. In 1866, a new chapel was built at the behest of Father Joseph Giorda, the Superior of the Rocky Mountain Indian Missions. Father Anthony Ravalli designed the church. Father Ravalli, along with Brother William Claessens, built the new chapel. When the new chapel was dedicated, Owen donated new candles for the ceremony. Because Fort Owen and St. Mary’s were near each other, a social and cultural bond developed between the two. They would discuss the happenings of the area, exchange baked goods and have dinner with one another.
Sunday’s events will include the ringing of St. Mary’s Chapel Bell at 2 p.m. An invocation and presentation of colors by the Stevensville FFA chapter will follow. Salish tribal members will then raise the Flathead Nation flag. That will be followed by a re-enactment of the Salish Indians welcoming the Black Robe Missionaries in 1841 and the 1850 sale of the Mission property to John Owen. The Salish will then make a presentation. Vernon Carroll from Fort Owen State Park will give a short talk. The poster contest winners will be announced at the end of the presentation.
Once the presentation is over, a new addition to the Founders Day celebration will be held. The Hidden Gems Antique Auction will feature both a silent auction and a live auction of unique antiques. Over the past few weeks, director Colleen Meyer and her volunteers at Historic St. Mary’s Mission have been gathering donated items. People from throughout the valley have donated antiques from brass tubs and a baseball mitt to an Amish baby stroller and an old hospital table. Recently an old doctor’s buggy that has recently been restored was donated. For any Montana State University fans, there is a laundry bag from the ‘Fightin’ Bobcats’ of Montana State College. This unique piece has been professionally mounted and framed and is sure to be a hit. There are dolls, quilts, furniture items and artwork to be auctioned.
Some of these items will be in a silent auction that will open at 1 p.m. The live auction will begin at 3 p.m. Jim Pfau and Bill McNulty will handle the auction. It’s sure to be a lot of fun for everyone and a great way to help Historic St. Mary’s Mission fund ongoing improvements and restoration projects. To wrap up the celebration, the Knights of Columbus will serve up a barbecue meal.